We are a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 girls 11 and 14) and we will be cruising on the Ruby Princess in June. The ship will be stopping at Monte Carlo, Livorno, Naples, Santorini, Kusadisi, Mykonos, Athens, Katakolon, and Corfu. We leave from Rome and end the cruise in Venice. We should be able to find tours while in Rome and Venice but the excursions offered by the cruiseline seem a little expensive (especially when multilpied by 4!). Has anyone visited these locations and does anyone have any suggestions for independent tour companies that aren't quite so pricey? We were also hoping to visit a few beaches if anyone has any suggestions for nice, public beaches with facilities. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

We'll be rolling off Ruby as your prepare to embark - so I have no specific advise. I'm sure some of the more experienced folks here will be glad to help. I'm taking the time to post to encourage you to scroll down to the Destinations section and check out the postings under the Europe forum.